COVID-19’s Effect on Prefrontal Cortex
Since COVID-19 is in our lives, a lot has changed. Both physically and mentally. Society just notices the physical facts of it but what is going on inside of our brain? Before getting into technical terms let’s talk about our general psychology during the lockdown process. Before COVID-19 nearly all of us were complaining “I have no time for that”, and “If I had time I would definitely do it”. So we earned the time we wanted before COVID-19. How did we use it? Some of us tried to make bread at home, some of us started making puzzles, and some of us started to work out. But let’s be honest and realistic. Some of us considered this process as a time for being lazy and choosing to do nothing valuable. But in my opinion, the basic differences will appear maybe years later that have been caused by the lockdown process. Especially psychologically. If you use your time productive I’m totally sure that you will see noticeable progress. Instead of that if you use your time totally unproductive also you will notice the difference between your rivals. Also, I would like to clarify what I would like to mean by using the time unproductively, lying in bed all day, doing nothing, even not tidying your room, etc. Of course, every one of us can be lazy sometimes, but what I mean is to do nothing.
Also, I would like to mention ongoing research. For all the attention paid to the short and long-term physical effects of COVID-19, the disease has serious mental health consequences, too. Some researchers examined how the pandemic is affecting our brains — in particular the prefrontal cortex(PFC). The prefrontal cortex is the cerebral cortex covering the front part of the frontal lobe. This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior. So what affects PFC most? Basic research has found that high levels of catecholamine released during stress rapidly impair the top-down cognitive functions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
These effects may lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a serious psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. A key aspect of this effect of stress is that the subject feels that they do not have control over the stressor. Intriguingly, the PFC can turn off the stress response if it considers that the subject has control over the situation. Acute uncontrollable stress weakens PFC self-control and working memory function. Unfortunately in a situation like a pandemic, which has stretched on for more than a year with no clear end in sight more than qualifies as a sustained, chronic stressor.
A year ago we were categorizing these traumatic events and chronic stressors like natural disasters, serious accidents, terrorist acts, war, sexual harassment… Unfortunately because of COVID-19’s serious lockdown effects, we started to count COVID-19 as a traumatic event. Lockdown may trigger this disorder because of some facts like anxiety, financial insecurity, etc.
Chronic stress during brain development or in childhood may have a particularly large effect on PFC structure and function in adulthood. I would like the emphasize childhood. During the lockdown process everybody got affected but what are the consequences in child psychology? Symptoms of distress following exposure to traumatic stress can be quite varied in exposed children and adolescents. Sometimes kids whine about going to school, sometimes they think school is unnecessary. However, nearly every kid wanted to go to school during the lockdown. Because they missed playing with their friends, they missed running down from the school hole. They missed the excitement when they hear the broken ring. But they didn’t have any attraction during the lockdown. Sometimes the activities that can be implemented in-house could be boring for children. Because they have a lot of energy to use. So sometimes they can’t use this energy between 4 walls.
This chronic stress also affects adults. The pandemic is aggravating existing stressors. Stressors such as financial insecurity, and anxiety — which affects impair prefrontal cortical performance which is critical for regulating emotions and coping, among other functions. Both children and adults when they feel out of control about even a minor stressor may initiate some chemical reactions that would certainly affect prefrontal connections. And when that stress keeps going on there is a high chance of losing the function of prefrontal connections.
In order to provide bright and healthy adulthood to a child, we should reduce the effect of this pandemic as much as we can. Lack of stress would bring a new angle to the child’s view. At the individual and family level investing in parent-focused interventions may help with stress management and teach coping skills to both parents and children.
Mental health costs of chronic stress but this situation is unique because during the pandemic people have also lost many of the social connections and outlets needed to help manage their stress loads.
The pandemic has been a part of our lives for nearly one and a half years. Still, we don’t have enough facts to see what’s going to happen next. This situation triggers anxiety, which enhances the damage to the prefrontal cortex.
Since we all accept this situation as a global crisis, we should come up with some global solutions that would be effective for everyone. In order to tackle this issue efficient systemic and global interventions have to be implemented.
At a time when the pandemic is impairing the prefrontal cortex for so many people, such interventions can actually help many of them strengthen function in this critical part of the brain.
During COVID, we all need the higher cognitive functions of the prefrontal cortex to be able to plan and act healthy.
To conclude, in order to deal with these factors, I would like to suggest the best activity when I am dealing with stress. “Listening to Music”. Music has a unique energy. Music stimulates oxytocin — a hormone related to positive, happy feelings. When we listen to music we enjoy, our bodies release dopamine — a neurotransmitter that’s usually dispensed during pleasurable activities. Dopamine gives us a sense of well-being and reward and is also associated with motivation and attention. Also, music reduces agitation and alleviates stress.
Stay Healthy!
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